GOING NATIVE IN THE SUPERLATIVE

15:15 Newmarket

Mr McCann is owned by a quintet of current and former Liverpool players and is trained by Tom Dascombe, who trained Michael Owen’s superstar globetrotter, Brown Panther. He’s two from three and scored quite well on his last start, at odds of 22/1. He seems to have relished stepping up in trip and being by Kodiac, there’s definitely no qualms about this race being too fast. However, I’d be slightly concerned that this is a leap up in class and he would have to improve dramatically to score victory over this field.

Private Signal is the second Godolphin string for Charlie Appleby, who have taken three of the last five renewals of this race. He was narrowly denied by Austrian Theory on debut and then made all in the race after at Leicester. He’s had little form boost by how his stablemate in that race, Stormy Ocean, finished 4th in a competitive maiden at Newmarket yesterday. Moreover, his jockey, James Doyle, is in fantastic form. Although he has won over 7 furlongs, I think there’s a possibility he might just find this too fast, as his relations preferred longer distances and this is a much tougher race.

Native Trail is the first Godolphin string for Charlie Appleby and the preferred mount of William Buick, who has an excellent record at Newmarket. He’s related to some smart performers over 6 furlongs to a mile, which should stand him in good stead for this race. Like the aforementioned horses, he’s won on both distance and ground. He was visually impressive on debut, at Sandown, towering above his rivals and he quickened away in dramatic fashion to win by 4 lengths. That victory earned him comparisons to Pinatubo, who was 2-year-Old Horse of the Year in 2019, and he looks to have just as much upside. Additionally, along with Private Signal, he is entered into the National Stakes at the Curragh, which is also a race that connections endeavour to win, which suggests they think highly of this pair. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Charlie Appleby land this race for connections, who like to place one of their leading two-year-olds in this Group 2 contest.

NATIVE TRAIL (WIN)

written by Kieran McHugh